Overview
- The Thuringian Landtag held a public hearing on Wednesday, September 30, 2026, where entertainer Hape Kerkeling submitted a written statement urging cross‑party action to block the AfD.
- Kerkeling framed his appeal through family history, noting his grandfather spent years jailed and three years in Buchenwald for anti‑Nazi leaflets and warning that voting for right‑wing populists harms future generations.
- Human‑rights groups and civil‑liberties lawyers attending the hearing reiterated that prior 2023 legal assessments find the AfD meets criteria that could justify a constitutional ban and that a court case would likely be viable.
- Opponents at the session, including lawyer Ulrich Vosgerau and invited AfD‑aligned voices such as Hans‑Georg Maaßen, argued the Thuringian parliament lacks competence to start a national ban process and warned the move risks politicizing justice.
- Legal experts argue two realistic outcomes from a ban procedure are a judicial prohibition by the Federal Constitutional Court or a moderating effect on the AfD that forces expulsions of radical members, and the debate now tests how German institutions balance memory, law, and democratic safeguards.